Device for gripping annular articles



Sept 1956 H. D. HALEY 2,763,507

DEVICE FOR GRIPPING ANNULAR ARTICLES Filed Aug. 29, 1950 INVENTOR. HUGH D. H/ EV BY Unite DEVICE FOR GRIPPING ANNULAR ARTICLES Hugh D. Haley, Drexel Hill, Pa., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application August 29, 1950, Serial No. 181,967 2 Claims. (Cl. 294-93) The present invention relates to a device for extracting an annular article from a closely-fitting container and particularly to an implement for removing yarn packages such as centrifugally formed rayon cakes from the spinning buckets in which the yarn is collected.

A spinning bucket nest usually comprises a compartment of lead-lined construction containing a spinning bucket and a cover therefor aligned on a vertical axis. A closure for an aperture in the top of the compartment may be removed for access to the bucket. Apertures through the bucket and the compartment covers in vertical alignment with each other are provided through which a funnel guide is inserted and reciprocated in a vertical direction to obtain distribution of yarn windings in a direction longitudinally within the bucket. The yarn package which is collected therein, in many commercial spinning systems, is removed by removing the bucket from the compartment so that the bucket may be overturned and the cake, which is generally loose and slightly contracted from the walls, readily separates from the bucket without the necessity for a direct lift or pull applied to the cake. It is important that cakes receive gentle handling so as not to disturb the arrangement of the filaments and to avoid the excessive scrapping of yarn resulting from disarrangement of the windings. The present trend in the industry is to remove cakes directly from the buckets while mounted on their spindles whenever practicable, to materially reduce the labor entailed in dofng such packages from large spinning machines. A serious diculty, however, arises in trying to lift the cakes from the buckets without disturbing the inner windings of the cakes.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an implement for extracting an annular article from a closely-fitting container, and particularly a handoperated device for lifting a centrifugally formed cake from a spinning bucket without disturbing or disarranging the windings along its inner surface. Another object is to provide a simple, inexpensive durable cake-extracting device which may be manipulated with one hand. It is also an object to remove cakes of yarn without having to remove the spinning bucket from the motor spindle. Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent from the following description of the invention and the drawing relating thereto in which Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a spinning bucket and a cake illustrating the cake-gripping device of the invention positioned within the cake and a hand of the operator positioned within the device;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the apparatus shown in Fig. l with the device in gripping position and the cake partly removed from the bucket;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a spinning bucket, a cake, and a modified cake-gripping device; Y

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a spinning bucket, a cake, and another modified cake-gripping device;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the device of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a section in elevation of a modified cakegripping device;

ice

Fig. 7 is an end view of the device illustrated in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a pictorial view partly broken away of a modiled gripping device; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional View of a bucket, a cake, and a modified gripping device.

The present invention comprises a manually operated device for gripping articles, such as yarn cakes, which have central openings of suflicient size to receive an implement which will accommodate one hand of an operator. The device has resiliently expandable walls which may be forced into contact with the inner surface of the article by expansion or manipulation of the hand enclosed by the device.

Fig. l illustrates a spinning bucket 5, a cake 6 supported therein, and a gripping device or cake-extractor 7 suspended within the cake on the hand S of the operator. The device 7 is a casing or shroud fabricated or molded from a soft resilient elastic material such as sponge rubber. The device 7 is shown with its bottom surface slightly above the inner end-surface l0 of the spinning bucket although the device may be inserted completely to engage the endsurface 1t). When the hand is in the position shown in Fig. 1, wherein the hand is extended but somewhat relaxed with the fingers substantially together, the device has suicient clearance of say 1A; to 1/4 of an inch with the inner surface of the cake 6 so that the device may be easily inserted into the cake without substantial contact or friction of the inner windings of the cake. The cavity l2 is suiiiciently large to contain the hand 8 in extended condition without deformation, or without appreciable deformation, of the walls of the device. The walls of the device preferably extend inwardly at one or both of the end-portions thereof to form an aperture at the end of the cavity which approximately fits the operators wrist so that the device may be readily maintained and supported on the hand during an extended period of use such as when dofng an entire spinning machine. When the hand is folded into the fist shown in Fig. 2, portions of the hand thereof engage the surfaces of the cavity to deform the walls of the device outwardly against the inner surface of the cake. Adequate frictional contact between the device and the cake is thus obtained whereby the cake may be lifted upwardly from the spinning bucket. To release the grip of the device 7 on the inner surface of the cake, the hand is returned to its extended position as shown in Fig. l. The device 7 may be expanded also by, instead of forming a fist, using the extended hand with the thumb and the fingers separated in directions lateral with respect to each other.

A modified gripping device l5 is shown in Fig. 3 which is unexpanded and completely inserted into the cake 6 to engage the inner end surface of the bucket 5. Imbedded within the walls of the casing of soft elastic resilient material 16 of the device l5 are two or more thin-walled arcuate shell members 17 and i8 which are provided for the purpose of reinforcing the walls of the device and thus securing substantially uniform pressure between extensive areas of the device and the cake when the walls of the device are expanded sufficiently to grip the cake. A cavity 19 similar to cavity l2 of the device 7 is provided for the operators hand which is used in the manner shown and described with respect to device 7 to manipulate the modified device. A layer of the material 16 extends along the radially inward surfaces of the members 17' and 18 as a cushion to protect the operators hand against chamng and discomfort. The device l5 is provided with a lower aperture 20 so that the interior surfaces of the device can be easily cleaned, readily drained, and ventilated during the periods it is not in use. The elastic resilient material 16 which extends between adjacent edges of the members 17 and 18 provide the elasticity which returns the device to its normal unexpanded condition when the hand is extended as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate an extracting device 25 in the inserted position with respect to the cake 6. The device 42S is simiiar to the device 15 of Fig. 3 except that it is provided with a pair lof handles 26 and 27 which are secured to a pair of rigid thin-walled reinforcing'members 25 and 29 similar to members 17 and 18 of device 1S. The handles 26 and 27 are secured rigidly to members v29 and 2S respectively. When the handles are squeezed toward each other by the operators hand 8, the walls of the device 25 in which the members 23 and 29 are imbedded expand outwardly against the inner surface of the cake. The elastic resilient material between adjacent edges of the imbedded members provide the resiliency for returning the vdevice to its vnormal unexpanded shape when the manual grip on the handles 26 and 27 Vis released.

. Figs. -6 and 7 illustrate a gripping device 35 according to the'invention which may be expanded by a pair of handles 36 and 37 which are `secured to a pair of thinwalled arcuate members 39 and 38 respectively. The arcuate members conform generally to a surface of revolution smaller than the interior surface of an annular article such as the cake 6. The-members 33 and 39, including the handles attached-thereto, are preferably exactly alike to facilitate construction of the device. The members are provided with pairs of adjacent extensions 40, 41 and 40a, 41a which in cooperation with springs 42 which resiliently connect the members, guide the members in returning the device from the expanded condition to the unexpanded condition as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Extension of the springs 42 in an arcuate path around the extensions 40 and 40ct holds the members 38 and 39 together. The device 35 is operated manually by squeezing the handles 3d and 37 toward each other in the manner described for the device 25 of Fig. 4. The members 38 and 39 comprise any-rigid material such as a metal, molded thermoplastic or'thermosetting material, or a resinous and fabric laminate. If desired, the inner surfaces of members 38 and l39 may be covered With a cushioning layer of resilient material to protect the operators hand.

The resilient elastic material used for fabricating devices 17, and 25 is preferably sponge rubber. The term rubber includes natural rubber of any of the syn- Vthetic elastomeric vulcanizates. The outer surface of the rubber or'rubber-like material used in fabricating any devices of the present invention is preferably smooth and skin-like, rather than porous with the cell structure exposedso as to avoid abrasion or disarrangement of the inner windings ofthe cake. The inner surface of the resilient material is alsopreferably smooth with the cell lstructure sealed to protect the operators hand from abrasion and to present an impervious barrier to the acid solution carried b'y wet cakes. If desired, a glove formed from liquidimp'ervio'us material such as rubber may be worn on the hand when using-any one of the devices herein described.

The device of the invention in its simplest form may Y comprise Va sleeve 45 of resilient elastic material such as shown in Fig. 8. Sleeve 45 and other gripping devices in accordance with the invention having resilient elastic walls and apertures 'at both ends, such as device 7 and 15 of Figs. l and 3V respectively, may, if desired be slitted in one or more places in a longitudinal direction part Way from the end which is opposite that through which the hand is inserted to`make the device more responsive to the operators hand. A device such as the cup shaped implement d3 of Fig. 9 is also within the scope of the present invention. Device 48 has a closed end portion 49 and an exterior circular surface which tapers to a smaller diameter toward the closed end to facilitate insertion of the device into the cake. The operators hand is inserted into a cavity Sti the surfaceof'which preferably tapers to a smaller diameter toward, the openend 51.

The devices herein described, while'i'ntended y)girirnarily for the purpose of removing yarn cakes from spinning buckets, are obviously suitable for handling other farticles having a passageway extending partly or entirely through them. Moreover, the shape of thea'rticle gripping device may be adapted to passageways having a cross sectional contour other than circular. v

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be Vunderstood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for gripping an article which has a cavity of approximately uniform cross-sectional -c0ntour,said device having extensive external surface portions which are complementary in contour with the surface of the cavity and having a clearance therewith when the device is fully inserted and centered within the cavity in its normally unexpanded condition, said device having a free internal surface defining an open cavity therein adapted toreceive a hand for engaging portions of the internal surface, the walls of the device being resiliently exible and comprising a soft resiliently spo-ngy material defining said external surface portions and thin-Walled arcuate reinforcing shell members embedded in diametrically opposed wall portions of the device and covered by said spongy material, said reinforced wall portions being relatively movable in opposite directions to expand the device to bring said surface portions into engagement with the surface of the cavity of the article, means disposed within the cavity of the device connected to said opposed wall portions adapted to he engaged, and operated, by a hand disposed within the device for urging the wall portions apart.

2. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein the opposed wall portions comprise a spongy resilient material covering the radially inner, as well as the radially outer,sur faces of said arcuate reinforcing members and -dening said free `surface of the device.

References Cited in the file of this'patent UNITED STATES liArrElbVlfS 566,041 Warner Aug. 18,11896 1,142,342 McNeil Junesisis 15187341 Johnson June 2,0, 1916 1,455,314 Watkins May 415, 1923 1,520,840 Murray Dec.`30,`192,4

`, 2,170,188 Cobi Aug.'22, 1939 A2,374,947 Nicholson May 1,1945

2,486,489 McDermott NOV. 1, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 688,211 France Jan. 14, V1930 

